


Silhouettes

by jonesy100000000



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Non-Canon Events, Non-Canon Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-05-25
Updated: 2012-06-06
Packaged: 2017-11-06 00:21:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/412658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jonesy100000000/pseuds/jonesy100000000
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"You've given up on life. Your talking like hope has died, but hope's the one thing that can never die. We can spend most of our lives in what appears to be hell on earth but there's always hope; the hope that one day things will be better."</p><p>Draco felt as if his hope had died. Will Hermione be able to show him that hope will always survive if you give life a chance?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. All My Problems

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on Smile Empty Soul's 'Silhouettes' and disregards a lot of the 7th book. I wrote it a few years ago and I'm posting it over from ff.net.

Silhouetted against the rapidly setting sun, a lone figure sat staring out across the stormy sea to the bleak horizon. Draco sighed heavily and hung his head in his hands a defeated look set heavily on his face. This was not the face of a seventeen year old boy, but likened more to a man who has lived a troubled life for decades. To Draco Malfoy, it felt like the past year had aged him mentally, he had seen things and done things he had never imagined he would. They had taken their toll on the boy and he was paying a heavy price for them. He had failed; the pressure had got to him, he had cracked, 'a disappointment right to the very end' as he father had said. Now he was to all intents and purposes on the run as Snape had killed Dumbledore. In a short while he supposed he would have to find some way of returning to Malfoy Manor and face the consequences of his lack of actions.

After he had run away from Hogwarts, Draco had wandered on his own, he wasn't desparate to return home. He didn't know where he was as he hadn't apparated, he had just run and run and after his legs started to give way, he walked trying to clear his head so that he could menatally prepare himself for whatever was going to happen next. Now the physical exertion had caught up with him and Draco was too worn out to do much else but sit and think through things. Draco liked being alone, he always had, even when Crabbe and Goyle had followed him around in some ways Draco had still been alone. Last year, he had definately been alone, no-one could possibly understand what he had been through. The blond was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear approaching footsteps.

Hermione had been taking a walk along the cliffs near to Shell Cottage. She had wanted to clear her head, and a solitary amble was the perfect way to do this, after the events with Harry and Dumbledore leading to the latter's eventual demise at the hand of Snape. Severus Snape whom Dumbledore had trusted and stood up for over the issue of his being a death eater, he had betrayed him. Frustrated, Hermione kicked a stone along the path; life could be so unfair. Why did a great man like Dumbledore have to die when weaker men survived to live another day? Suddenly, Hermione stopped when she saw a shadowy figure sat by the cliff edge. The rest of the Weasley clan and Harry were back at Shell Cottage and she doubted anyone else knew of this place. She slowly drew her wand form under her robes and gingerly approached the edge, gasping quietly when she saw the figure was no older than herself and blond.

'Draco Malfoy?' Draco's head snapped up to look at her. 'What are you doing here?'

'What's it matter to you Granger? Why don't you run off to stupid scarhead, the 'saviour' of the wizarding world and your husband-to-be, the Weasel? I'm sure they'll be pleased to know where I am so they can turn me over to the dementors.' Draco looked back out to sea; it was just his luck to be found by the goody-two-shoes.

Hermione, slightly intrigued by Draco's peculiar behaviour, sat down next to him, her wand nearby just in case she needed it. She didn't think that Draco would hurt her; he was a bully but there was no-one else around for him to show off to and Hermione knew he wasn't a killer, if he was then Snape wouldn't have killed Dumbledore. However, Hermione was not stupid, Draco was still a slytherin who looked down on muggle-borns and they were about to be plunged into a war on opposing sides, as one of Harry's best friends Hermione wasn't exactly an unknown to the death eaters, and so she kept her wand at the ready just in case he tried anything on her.

Angered, Draco said, 'Now what? Why can't you just leave me alone?'

'Sometimes being alone isn't good enough,' Hermione countered, not allowing his anger to get to her. 'Sometimes all we need is someone to talk to, who will listen to us.'

'What makes you think I want to talk?'

'You must be bothered by something or else you wouldn't be here.'

'Don't presume to know me, Granger.'

Hermione sighed, 'I know you're just scared.'

'I'm Draco Malfoy; I don't get scared,' scoffed Draco.

'Then we go back to my earlier question, why are you here? If you're not scared why don't you go running back to mummy and daddy? You're barely seventeen Draco; it's alright to be scared sometimes. We're living in a scary time, the futures uncertain for all of us.'

Then Draco did something that shocked Hermione to the core. Draco Malfoy, the hardened slytherin bully, began to cry quietly. Hermione was unsure what to do now, one thing she knew though was that she could not leave him alone; it went against her very nature. Gently, she scooted slightly closer to Draco and put her arm around him to comfort him.

If Hermione had been shocked by his tears, then Draco was even more so. He had not meant to break down in front of Granger but something about her persistent questioning, and the fact that she had just used his given name for what was probably the first time, had caused the dam he had spent years building to break. The flood was coming as tears poured down his cheeks, and Draco was powerless to stop them.

'Of course I'm scared Hermione. How could I not be? Everything I've been forced to do and witness is only the beginning; my life will only get worse from now on.' Draco barely noticed his slip-up of Hermione's name, but she did. He raised his head to look her in the eye. 'You've got to understand Hermione; I never truly wanted any of it: the torture, the killings, the plotting, my task, any of it. I just wanted to be an ordinary boy who did well in school and had a good family but the Dark Lord came back and ruined it all for me. I don't believe in any of that pureblood/mudblood rubbish. How could I when you, a muggle born, are the brightest witch of our age?'

Hermione looked back into Draco's misty grey eyes and saw only the truth in him. He was not lying, he was just pouring out his heart to the first person who had actively listened to him. It was at that point that her heart broke for the boy sat next to her, the boy who had bullied and tormented her for the past six years.

'Can't you understand Hermione; I don't want to end up living like my mother. She lives her life ruled by fear of my father, and now the Dark Lord. She barely exists, everything she does is controlled by my father, she can't put a toe out of line – what he says goes and you don't contradict him because he follows The Dark Lord. I can't spend the rest of my living like that Hermione, I can't. As for my father, well, I used to think he was great. That everything he said about muggle-borns was true and how they were the scum of the wizarding world who ought to be purged, and that The Dark Lord was the right wizard to do so. I idolised him, practically worshipped the ground he walked on; I was proud to call him my father. Now it just makes me sick to the core, he genuinely believes in what the Dark Lord preaches. He thinks he's doing some sort of good for the world. Now the Dark Lord's back, his working hard to make sure he, and I suppose the rest of our family, stay in favour. He's giving up Hermione, everything he says and does has to have the Dark Lord's approval. I don't want to give up like that before I die, Hermione. I want to be able to make my own decisions. I don't want to be the man my father is.'

Hermione was touched by Draco's soliloquy and so hugged him closer to her, 'Why don't you just not go back? Come back with me and join the order or something.'

'It's not that simple Hermione, not everything in this world is black and white, good and bad. There are periods of grey throughout life. I haven't got an option Hermione, I have to go back, I've got no choice. Do you have any idea what would happen to my mother, or my father, if I didn't return home? Do you have any idea what's probably happening to them already, just because I'm not a killer? It was for fear of their safety that kept me focused on my task last year.'

Hermione removed her arm and stood up. 'You say you don't want to end up living like your parents Draco, but that's exactly what you're doing. You've given up on life. Your talking like hope has died, but hope's the one thing that can never die. We can spend most of our lives in what appears to be hell on earth but there's always hope; the hope that one day things will be better. The order could rescue your parents, offer them safe-house or something.'

'For me, Hermione, hope died years ago.' Draco stood and spun on his heels, disapparating to Malfoy Manor.


	2. This is War

Hermione sat down by the Great Lake. The final battle was over, Harry and the order had won, but at a heavy price; so many good people has fallen in the fight: Sirius, Moody, Tonks, Lupin, and Fred, to name but a few. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she thought of each of them and the countless more who would continue to suffer, the lives that would have to be rebuilt.

A commotion from just behind her, distracted Hermione from her sombre thoughts and she turned her head to see what was going on.

'Let go of me,' a familiar voice sounded.

Hermione stood, her wand at the ready, and walked toward the small group of people. Her eyes widened when she saw two aurors trying to take Draco Malfoy away.

'Draco? Where are they taking you?'

'Stay away Miss. He's a death eater and probably still dangerous,' the slightly larger and more senior auror warned Hermione.

Draco didn't look too happy, 'What do you mean dangerous? How can I be dangerous? I don't even have a wand and I'm not a death eater. Hermione, tell them, tell them I mean no harm. Please?'

'Don't talk to her, you piece of filth,' the second auror barked at Draco, drawing back his fist and punching him. Draco fell to the ground, too fatigued to defend himself. From his position he looked up at Hermione, his eyes pleading with her to have some pity.

Hermione glanced down, still shocked by the auror's actions, and looked into his eyes as she had done nearly a year before; he looked frightened. He had made his choice then and was having to face the consequences now. She gave him a disappointed look as Draco was dragged to his feet and hauled away, no longer resisting having seen Hermione Granger's disappointment in him.

Without a second glance back, Hermione walked away from the three men and made her way back to the castle, the tears once more cascading down as she attempted to come to terms with what she had done. It wasn't in her nature to be so cruel, but what else could she have done? A year ago, she had offered him a safe house, a chance for redemption but he had turned it all down saying that he had no choice. He was wrong; he had made his choice to go back to Voldermort. He had picked a side and had to deal with what life would be like for him as a former death eater. She could do nothing, if he was not willing to help himself. It wasn't like she owed him anything. He had made her life difficult for her first six years at Hogwarts, calling her names and laughing at her, even though it was not her fault that she was muggle born.

As she neared the castle, Hermione could not shake the image of Draco looking so alone and abandoned on the cliff edge one year ago. Maybe she had been too harsh on him; he had been just a boy, forced into the life his parent led. He had been telling the truth when he had apologised for bullying her and said he didn't want to be a death eater like his parents. For once in his life Draco Malfoy had been honest with someone. Hermione couldn't ignore the scared look in his eyes as the aurors had taken him away. Her mind flashed back to what she had told him that evening on the cliff: 'It's alright to be scared sometimes. We're living in a scary time, the futures uncertain for all of us.'

On entering the castle, Hermione found herself with two pairs of strong arms around her.

'We were worrying about you Hermione,' said Harry.

'Yeah, we thought maybe a stray death eater had caught up with you,' exclaimed Ron.

At the words, 'death eater' Hermione begun to think of what had just happened with Draco, at how his life would be forever tainted by the fact that people believed him to be a death eater.

'Hermione? You didn't get in a fight with a stray death eater, did you?' questioned Ron.

'What? Oh not really.' Hermione was removed from her thoughts.

'Did you know Hermione, they've taken Malfoy away? He put up a bit of a struggle though, claiming he isn't a death eater and such,' Harry commented.

Ron scoffed, 'Once a death eater, always a death eater. According to Percy, that slimy ferret will be going to Azkaban for a very long time. He'll be nice company for he dementors. After what happened to you Hermione at his manor, he deserves whatever is coming to him.'

'Why Azkaban?'

'Where else is there for scum like him to go?'

'He's not scum, Ron. He's just a boy.'

'Why are you defending him, Hermione? Don't you remember Malfoy Manor?' Harry questioned.

'He had nothing to do with that, Harry. Draco can't be held responsible for what happened at his home. He had no say in what went on. Don't either of you remember? It wasn't Draco who told Voldermort who we were, was it?'

'He still bullied you for being a muggle born. He was still present when his aunt tortured you. He can't just get away with it all.'

'Draco was right. Hope has died for him, all the while bigoted people like you are still here then for innocent people like Draco, he has no hope of putting things right.' Hermione countered.

'How would you know if he's right?' Ron replied, disgusted that she might have spoken to the ferret.

'I know a lot more than you think Ronald. I know he's not a death eater at heart, I know he doesn't believe in pureblood ideology. I know he had no choice but to be branded. I know he's just a scared boy uncertain of what the future holds for him, and he's right to be so with people like you two who are practically baying for his blood.' Hermione turned to leave. She hadn't meant to get into an argument with her two best friends but she had never expected them to be so close-minded; it made them as bad as what they claimed Draco to be.

'Hermione, wait.' Harry place his hand on her arm to stop her leaving. Hermione spun around and brandished her wand at both Harry and Ron.

'Don't touch me!'

'Hermione just calm down,' Harry tried again having hastily removed his hand.

'Has Malfoy put you under some disillusionment charm or something?'

'Ron, that's not helping,' Harry argued.

'I've made a terrible mistake. Unlike you two, I can see when I am wrong. I'm going to go and set things right. I can't let an innocent boy be sent down because other are prejudiced against him. Otherwise, what was the point in the war, the lives that have been lost or destroyed, if we turn out just like those we fought against? It is not as simple as someone being a death eater or an order member; there are periods of grey throughout life,' Hermione turned once and more, storming out of the castle, leaving two shocked and battle-weary boys standing in her wake.


End file.
